AppleInsider podcast talks 'Apple Car,' iPhone's future, software betas, iPad Pro keyboards, more

AppleInsider

This week on the AppleInsider podcast, Neil and Mikey look at new evidence pointing to work on a so-called "Apple Car," forecast the future of iPhone and Apple Watch, discuss Neil's iPad Pro keyboard comparison and much more.

Apple iPhone 7 concept by Yasser Farahi.

AppleInsider editors Neil Hughes and Mikey Campbell go free form once again, chatting about:

• Mysterious "motor noises" coming from Apple's secret auto facility
  
• Apple working on systems for high-end cars at "auto testing center"
  
• Apple Maps vans pulling late-shifts ahead of iOS 10 launch
  
• Voice dictation added in tvOS 9.2 beta 3
  
• Job listings point to new Apple Watch faces
  
• Apple releases new iOS 9.3, watchOS 2.2, and tvOS 9.2 betas

The show is available on iTunes and your favorite podcast apps by searching for "AppleInsider." Click here to listen, subscribe, and don't forget to rate our show.

Listen to the embedded SoundCloud feed below:

The show is now also available on Stitcher Radio.

Show note links:

Late-night 'motor noises' emanate from Apple's mysterious car testing center

Apple working on systems for 'high-end cars' at California 'auto testing center'

Apple Maps vans operating around the clock in run-up to 'iOS 10' debut

First look: Apple adds voice dictation to latest Apple TV with tvOS 9.2 beta 3

New job listing hints at wider number of clock face options for Apple Watch

Apple drops third betas of iOS 9.3, watchOS 2.2, and tvOS 9.2 [u]

Follow our hosts on Twitter: @thisisneil and @mikeycampbell81.

Feedback and comments are always appreciated. Please contact the AppleInsider podcast at [email protected] and follow us on Twitter @appleinsider.

Those interested in sponsoring the show can reach out to us at [email protected].

ireland

One of the better episodes I thought.

And Mikey, no, car companies wouldn't allow Apple to supply the brains to their car. Aside from the fact that Apple has employed many hundreds of car engineer specialist in drive trains and autonomous driving and car building etc. including many employees from other car companies such as Daimler and Ford, we know many Apple execs are big into cars including Ive, Newson, Cue and Schiller and several people on Ive's design team are former high-end car designers. I believe it's very much like the watch in that if Apple stays out of the building-a-car game forever they'd be pushed out by other's who build cars that provide the complete solution. Just as Apple will eventually build a TV out of necessity as smart TVs will become good enough whereby people will no longer need Apple in the living room. I've seen it happen twice in the last 6 months already where in one example my suggestion to my aunt to buy an Apple TV was rejected when she informed me that the new TV she had just bought had "all the apps I need". Including a Netflix button on the remote. Apple was pushed out of her living room and they are not getting back in.

And you think Apple cannot build a car and turn a large profit? You're crazy if you think that. That's what Apple does. They will and are getting into the car game as electric batteries before more cost effective than ever—the most expensive part of an electric car.

In 2 years:

In 2014, the average cost of installing a stationary Li-ion battery in a California home was $23,429, according to The Wall Street Journal. In May, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that these batteries would start at $3,500, plus a $500 installation cost.

From Ars:

Beyond Tesla, however, a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change gathered data to confirm that the cost of Li-ion battery packs for electric vehicles are falling for everyone. If trends continue, the paper suggests, electric vehicle battery packs and their stationary brethren could compete more effectively against gas cars and backup generators not too far into the future.